WWW.KESTADC.COM
TV PERSONALITY
/ 27
By: Aline Barros
on’t expect the weather report to ever be the same after watching Telemundo’s weather anchor Cristina Caicedo Smit’s announcements. The Colombian journalist, a graduate from Universidad del Norte en Barranquilla, moved to Washington D.C. five years ago, and has been enchanting the Latino audience with her charisma and enthusiastic personality ever since. “I was always very interested in telling stories,” says Cristina, who remembers listening attentively to her mother’s stories as a young girl (only to be the author herself a few days later). “I would just tell the same story with a different ending,” she says. The anchor puts her storytelling attitude to work with her Telemundo viewers. “I decided on journalism because I think it is a beautiful career...my passion for storytelling was the main thing that made me choose journalism,” says Cristina. She provides last minute reports for “Una Buena Mañana” listeners, and shares tips on how to take important precautions during significant hurricanes such as Sandy or tornado threats. Meanwhile it is easy to see why viewers love Cristina so much. Her Facebook and Twitter pages are full of fans thanking the anchor and showing support. Before embracing the weather news, Cristina worked in the marketing department also in Telemundo Washington where she contributed to organizing events and campaigns for the Hispanic population in the Nation’s Capitol. Holding that position only furthered her interest for entertainment reporting. Now when she is not keeping the community up-to-date with the latest weather information, Cristina presents a special segment titled, “Entre Estrellas,” every Friday. In this segment, she has interviewed acclaimed names in the Latino entertainment industry such as Daddy Yankee, David Bisbal, Franky Negron, and Juanes.
The weather anchor is also in the postproduction stages of a mini-series titled “Cambio Climático, Verdad o Mito” airing July 1, 2, and 3 where audiences will be delighted to see how extreme weather is affecting people’s everyday lives. Cristina explains she was always very interested on the topic, and decided to produce a series where storytelling could lead the way to break down what’s going on with mother nature and who is causing it. “Sometimes I think people don’t really know what the problem is,” says the journalist. She has been working on this project since the beginning of the year and has experts, such as University of Maryland professors, helping to make the best series possible. “It is learning as well as putting a difficult topic in simple words...it takes a lot of time because you have to write the story, produce, and you have to edit...I feel like I have been working like crazy for the past three months on this series,” Cristina states. She adds, “I think its something that everyone needs to see. From children to adults” In her personal life, Cristina is very committed to family and friends. She lives with her husband and stepdaughter and tells of how much she loves them. “It is a lot fun (to have a stepdaughter) and a lot of responsibility as well...but I love her very much,” adds the reporter who also enjoys dancing, working out and cooking, just don’t call her to clean the dishes she jokes, “I love cooking, but not cleaning the dishes.”
Cristina is a woman who inspires responsibility and tenderness, and someone who is secretly in love with Greek food and soap operas. She’s someone that loves being with people and knowing that she is making a difference in the audience’s lives. Cristina urges her fans to reach out to her on both nice and bad weather days, “I would love for people to send pictures and so I can put them on the news,” she concludes. Don’t forget to catch Cristina Caicedo Smit do what she does best at Telemundo Washington, Monday through Friday, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. or find her on social media platforms at facebook.com/Cristina-Caicedo-SmitTelemundo-Washington or Tweeting @CristinaWZDC. █